South Korea’s Ruling Party & 4 Smaller Parties Exclude the Main Opposition Party Again, Disregard Parliamentary System, Quickly Pass ₩512 Trillion ($432 Billion) Super Budget Without Discussion

2019-12-12, Tara O

On December 10, 2019, the ruling party + 4 smaller parties, so-called “4+1,” formed a bloc to pass what is known as the “Super Budget” of ₩512.3 trillion ($432 billion), the largest budget in South Korea’s history, while excluding the main opposition party.  The Deobureo Minjoo Party (Democratic Party of Korea), together with Bareun Mirae Party, Justice Party, Democratic Peace Party, and New Alternative Party pushed forward in passing the bill, despite Liberty Korea Party’s protest. The bill passed only one minute after it was introduced. (30:15)

Hwang Kyo-ahn, the leader of the Liberty Korea Party stated, “This cannot happen within the constitutional history, and it must not happen, but it occurred today.  Parliamentary system is destroyed and the rule of law has collapsed. Taxpayers have been robbed. What they snatched today was not the national budget, but people’s livelihood and democracy…The Democratic Party of Korea conspired with their secondary satellite parties to give up their budgetary review under the Constitution and Congressional Law…The sweat and blood [taxes] of the citizens will be used as the “rice cake” (“pork”) for the political back-trade for the passage of the Semi-interlocked Proportional Representatives Election Law and the Gongsoocheo Act.”

The Gongsoocheo Act, if passed, will create an investigative organization that targets senior officials, such as judges and prosecutors, and it will answer to the president.  In effect, it places the judiciary branch under the president, thus undermining the separation of power, and can be used to control the judges and prosecutors. See here and here for more on Gongsoocheo and the Semi-interlocked Proportional Representatives system.

The ₩512.3 trillion ($432 billion) budget represents a 9.1% (₩42.7 trillion or $36 billion) increase from this year’s budget of ₩469.6 trillion ($396 billion).  Next Year’s government revenue is expected to be ₩481.80 trillion ($406 billion), thus it will be short ₩71.5 trillion (60 billion), bringing the total government debt to ₩805.2 trillion ($679 billion).  The national debt to GDP was 39.8% this year, which was already a large jump, and this figure is projected to increase even more with the passage of the 2020 super budget.

The budget for health, welfare, and employment is the largest at ₩180.5 trillion ($152 billion), a 12.1% increase from this year’s budget.  The graph below shows the breakdown of the budget.

The major players of Deobureo Minjoo (Democratic Party of Korea) and those from the cooperating smaller parties seemed to have received “budget gifts,” which should help them in next year’s general election on April 15, 2020.

The pork barrel for “4+1” parties

Many (19 of 33) of the lawmakers from the small political parties and unaffiliated who cooperated with the ruling party are from Gwangju and Jeolla Provinces, to where about ₩1.1 trillion ($923 million) was shifted from other parts of the budget.  For instance, the “budget gifts” went to National Assemblyman Park Jie-won (박지원), New Alternative Party, who was allocated ₩56.7 billion ($47.8 million) for his causes and Hwang Ju-hong (황주홍), Democratic Peace Party, National Assembly’s Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Fisheries, who was allocated ₩27.6 billion ($23.3 million).

In Gwangju Metropolitan City, seven lawmakers from the Deobureo Minjoo Party, Bareun Mirae Party, New Alternative Party, unaffiliated, who cooperated on the budget saw an infusion of an additional ₩48 billion ($40.4 million) to their construction budget (for the Gwangju-Mokpo Honam High Speed Railroad), from the original ₩42 billion($35.4 million), for a total of ₩90 billion ($75.8 million).

Ideology and the Budget

Some budget items took a more ideological tone.  For instance, the Gwangju (May 18) Incident-related projects to be executed by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security have more than doubled. The Gwangju City’s 40th Anniversary of May 18 Project was ₩2.5 billion ($2.1 million) in the government proposal, but it increased to ₩5.6 billion ($4.7 million) in the amended budget.  This is a ₩3.1 billion ($2.6 million) or 224% increase. The budget for the “40th anniversary of May 18” to be held in Gwanghwamun, Seoul in 2020, is ₩800 million ($674,000), an increase of  ₩500 million ($421,000) from the existing ₩300 million ($253,000). [The Gwangju Incident has been politically controversial, and there have been numerous efforts to silence those who raise questions.  Exactly who and how one becomes a “5.18 Meritorious Person” has also been controversial, especially given its generous benefits.]

The Sewol ferry budget managed by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, including the Sewol ferry memorial project, is ₩10 billion ($8.4 million).  The allocation for the “4/16 Foundation,” an NGO for the Sewol Ferry accident, increased to ₩2.32 billion ($2 million), an increase of ₩200 million ($169,000) from the original government proposal.  [The sinking of Sewol Ferry, a maritime accident and a tragedy, has been used for political purposes, including impeaching President Park Geun-hye.]

The Moon Jae-in administration and its party also has been promoting the awareness of the Donghak Peasants’ Revolution of 1894, which occurred during the Joseon Dynasty, and it is reflected in the budget totalling ₩8.5 billion ($7.1 million).  The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism handles the budget regarding this issue, and includes the following projects: the Project to Heighten the Donghak Peasants’ Movement Spirit (동학농민운동정신 선양사업), the Research on the Monuments Commemorating Donghak Peasants’ Revolution (동학농민혁명 기념 유적조사연구), and the Project to Sanctify the Land of Donghak Peasants’ Revolution in Gochang, North Jeolla Province (고창 동학농민혁명 성지화 작업).

On issues the current administration or the ruling party does not favor, the budget was cut. These include the reduction of ₩2 billion ($1.7 million) for the projects marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War and a cut of ₩300 million ($250,000) for operating the North Korean Human Rights Foundation.

Implications

There are several important issues and implications related to this budget.

1. The “1+4” gives the majority to this bloc and they have passed laws or place proposals on “fast track” without consulting the main opposition party and other smaller conservative parties, which means they disregard a large portion of South Korean citizens, who voted for the opposition.  This in turn is a disregard for the Republic and the rule of law.
2. The budget is the largest ever in South Korea’s history, with questionable budget items.  The heavy expenditure, especially in the welfare category, increasing debt-to-GDP ratio, and slowing economic growth will negatively impact South Korea’s economy and its financial health even further.
3. The ideologically driven budget choices, such as increasing funds for peasants’ revolution from an ancient dynasty era, while decreasing funds for North Korea human rights,  will cause more fissures in South Korean society.
4. The patronage created from the budget could increase support for Gongsoocheo and the Semi-interlocked Proportional Representatives Election System, which are dangerous to the liberal democratic system of South Korea.